AN ENGINEER who was held as a ‘human shield’ in Saddam Hussain’s Iraq during the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, was guest speaker at the recent meeting of Holsworthy Rotary Club in the Memorial Hall.

David Burr, from Chepstow and District Rotary Club, was working for a Kuwaiti company when he was caught up in the surprise invasion by Iraqi troops. The troops had orders to gather all British and American personnel and house them in barracks so that they would act as a deterrent to bombing. His description of the actions and activities of these troops was very different from the media reports received in Britain.

To avoid being detained, the people in his apartment block effectively cut themselves off from the outside. The details of the ways in which he, and a number of other people in his apartment block, coped with this situation by finding ways to manage stress, boredom, maintaining their health and fitness and eat regularly was fascinating. He spoke of the ways in which other individuals working locally helped keep their presence secret and supplied them with essentials and the occasional treat.

His explanation of the way the Iraqi conscripts behaved and the way limited damage to the infrastructure of Kuwait City were exaggerated for propaganda purposes was enlightening.

In the end, after 132 days confined to their apartments, they were allowed to leave by Saddam. On reaching the airport there were far more members of the ‘shield’ than the authorities had anticipated so some had to wait for additional aircraft before finally returning home.

Mr Burr’s visit was organised by Rotary’s International Committee.